Neonatal tetanus--long-term residual handicaps.

Abstract

Thirty-eight survivors of neonatal tetanus were assessed, 5 to 12 years after recovery, for neurological sequelae, physical growth, and maturation. Apart from appreciable handicaps (cerebral palsy, mental deficit, behavioural disturbances) in 4 cases, no harmful effect on physical growth or development was found. The fact that affected patients had frequent and prolonged bouts of spasms and apnoea suggests that anoxia was the main cause of brain damage.